If we still lived in Old Covenantal times, we could easily enter God’s house of prayer today by attending a church meeting in a visible building. Of course, I do not deny that Christians in churches do pray, too, but I want to clarify which prayer our prayer life should mainly consist of in New Covenantal times.
As Jesus cleansed the temple by driving out the merchants who sold animals and those who changed money, He surely made them angry. Shortly afterwards, the Jews certainly thought that Jesus was insane when they asked Him,

“What sign do you show us for doing these things?” (Jn 2:18 ESV)
and He only answered,“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (Jn 2:19 ESV)
🙄

Today we know more than the Jews at that time because we have the Bible and read there that Jesus was “speaking about the temple of his body.” (Jn 2:21 ESV) Since we are all Jesus’ brothers and sisters, Paul reminds us that we, too, are (to be) God’s temple. Paul asked the Corinthians,

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Cor 6:19-20 ESV)

A bit further above, the apostle utters two amazing statements. He says, “The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.” (1 Cor 6:13 ESV) and “But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.” (1 Cor 6:17-18 ESV) [Colored emphasis mine]

It is interesting to see how much success churches have had in the past with directing our thoughts legalistically merely to the sins – here sexual immorality – by simultaneously neglecting the context. You can find it everywhere in extremely legalistic circles where you can only hear about what you are NOT allowed to do and which kinds of people ought to be excluded from church membership. But have you ever heard why sexual immorality is so often mentioned in the New Testament? Did anyone tell you what made Paul speak rather often about it? What might have been his reasons to do so?
Well, he surely did not so because he wanted to exclude someone from fellowship. Basically, Paul’s gospel message had to be preached to the Gentiles who mostly were not familiar with the Jewish Law and did not know what God told the Hebrews about sexual immorality and related kinds of “misbehavior”. The Gentiles were not to keep the Law but merely to do what Peter said here,

“Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.” (Acts 15:19-20 ESV)

Certainly, today we are not in danger of being confronted with those other sins mentioned above. What remains is only abstaining from sexual immorality. Hmm…again…why? If you remember those verses I highlighted in 1 Cor 6:17-18, here they are without the rest of that Scripture once again,

“The body is for the Lord and the Lord for the body. He who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.”

Becoming one spirit with the Lord means nothing else but knowing God. God’s Love (agape) is often referred to as knowing God in the Bible, for example here.

“And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (Jn 17:3 ESV)“…we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.” (1 Cor 8:1-3 ESV) [Colored emphasis added]

With regard to the meaning of the word know, i.e., becoming ONE in an erotic sense, I’d like to point to one of Michael Clark’s responses on his own blog where he aptly explained it (cf. http://awildernessvoice.wordpress.com/2014/08/06/two-or-three-intimacy-in-christ/comment-page-1/#comment-1597).
Indeed, the Church has always had her theologians who knew the meaning of the Greek word γινώσκω (ginōskō) as becoming one in the flesh. That is no mystery in itself. The mystery begins when we experience that God’s love exceedingly transcends all our hopes and imagination. Jesus was as the first human being on earth who was already one with His Father – in the Holy Spirit.

As for our human spirit, it is not only “the mind” as some might think. Our spirit is also deeply connected to our soul and our body. Therefore, when God makes us one with Himself by pouring Christ’s Spirit into our hearts (cf. Rom 5:5), we may experience that God’s love not only satisfies our souls, but also our bodies in a way that makes us, finally, free from any sexual desire regarding the flesh (see Gal 5:24). That means, sexual immorality is no longer a temptation for those who have been empowered by God to walk in the Spirit continually. Just for clarification, it is not so that God would free us by taking away what every human being might need, instead, He gives us something better than this because oneness in the spirit includes our WHOLE being (body, mind, and soul) which will be completely satisfied by God’s overwhelming love.

Now we may assume why Jesus was not married, the apostle Paul, and others later, those mystics for example who founded monasteries and could easily live a celibate life as their every desire had been fulfilled by God Himself.
Alas, esp. the RCC made a rule out of something which was God-given and forced priests to live such a life, too. No wonder that they often failed unless they KNEW God. As for homosexuals, it is the same today. Whether we give attention to the liberals who say that it is okay to live a homosexual life or to the conservatives who try to “change” homosexuals by condemning their desire of which they cannot be freed unless they have experienced Christ’s love themselves, all these attempts of “redemption” by ignoring our heart’s desire to be perfectly loved are simply approaches of the human mind that does not know God’s overwhelming agape love – yet. There seem to be only two possibilities in church when Christians do not know God: Either preachers promote living a licentious life or they crush those poor people sitting in the pews with the Law which no human being can fulfill. None of these alternatives will ever work and draw people closer to God. Instead, believers remain captured either in acting out or on denying their desires. However, only God’s Spirit can fulfill our EVERY desire, for it is written,

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Ps 37:4 ESV)

“[…] O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” (Ps 63:2 ESV)

By the way, Martin Luther translated the word “desire” (in Ps 37:4) with “lust” [„Lust“ in German] which could make the true (spiritual!) nature of our intimate love relationship with God a bit more clear, too.

Finally, back to prayer….. 😉 I like to call that prayer where God meets my heart’s desires when I am alone with Him the prayer of love (aka as “worshipping God in Spirit and Truth”, cf. Jn 4:23-24). There I may meet God, the lover of our souls (i.e. spiritual bodies), and enjoy His loving embraces. Furthermore, I receive His love while praying in order to share it afterwards with those who do not know Him that well – yet…..
As a confirmation of what God has shown me in those many years I have been blessed to “know” Him, I’ll give you an excerpt from Michael Lazio which I found yesterday on the net.

Why would Jesus refer to His house as a House of Prayer?

First of all, Christ himself was a house of prayer and he was teaching his disciples to become one by modeling this for them when He continually withdrew and was talking with His Father and drawing strength from that intimate relationship He had in heaven. This same intimate relationship is one we can have because Jesus Christ came and hung on a cross to pay the price for us with his life, a perfect sacrifice shedding His blood for the forgiveness of all of our sins (John 3:16-17) “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

Remember, the Father in heaven sent His Son, Jesus Christ to be born of the virgin Mary, through the Holy Spirit, as a child to live with a real earthly mother, father and family and experience life as we know it. Think about it this way. As a child you have an intimate relationship with your earthly father or mother and you want to be around them and you depend upon them for certain things like food, clothing, a home to live in, and all the good things you like and need. Well, even though Jesus had those earthly parents, He came from heaven and longed for the intimate relationship with His Father in heaven. Prayer was that connection of intimacy that He left behind when He came to earth. He was modeling this for His disciples, and for us to follow, as He restored the relationship for us with the Father by His death, burial and resurrection.

There was such a longing in Jesus’ heart for heaven even though he lived as a man on this earth. Philippians 3:20 puts it this way, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” This is the thing Jesus longed for while He was here upon the earth because He came from heaven and knew He would be returning there upon His resurrection. So, you see, even though we live on this earth and live out our lives here, as we give our hearts and lives to Jesus Christ to become Savior and Lord we then also become citizens of heaven as we are restored to our Heavenly Father.

Your most welcome, dear Becky! ❤ I am happy to read that you liked this entry. 🙂

Indeed, it was only “a wee little bit” of what I dared to share publicly so far. Although I am looking forward to your email, please, do not hurry. I do know how it feels to have little time. Actually, sometimes I’d need a day with at least 48 hours and better health at that. 😛

Dear Susanne, I know that the closer we get to the truth of how intimate the Father and the Son want our relationship to be with them, the more the enemy will attack. I am praying for you, my dear sister.
Michael

Thanks so much for your prayers, my dear brother! I really covet them.

Yes, my health has been attacked intensely, all the more since I published that blog post. Even a direct attack from Satan as he made me feel his horrible presence while I tried to recover about one hour ago. But at least, I do not fear Satan any longer. He always disappears when he realizes that I put my trust only in God and His permanent presence which has never left me since November 2008. I am so grateful to God for ths special gift of protecting me under His wings.

Re; In your message you write a message from Michael Lazio: He says that a child depends on parents like JESUS DEPENDED ON GOD.
John 5 v 19 “I ONLY DO WHAT THE FATHER SAYS.”
Mark 10 v 15 says UNLESS YOU BECOME LIKE CHILDREN YOU CANNOT ENTER
THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
SO, WE ARE COMPLETELY DEPENDENT ON GOD LIKE A YOUNG CHILD DOES TO HIS PARENTS.. FOR WHAT? If you think about it. Such a child CRIES OUT FOR FOOD AND TO BE HELD: WE CAN CRY OUT TO HIM TO MEET OUR PHYSICAL NEEDS

WE CAN CRY OUT LIKE the Psalmists:
Ps. 55 v 17. “EVENING & MORNING AND NOON WILL I PRAY AND CRY OUT AND HE WILL HEAR M Y VOICE..HE HAS DELIVERED MY SOUL INTO (PEACE)….”

Ps 34 v 17: THE RIGHTEOUS CRY OUT TO GOD…

Ps 18 v 6 : IN MY DISTRESS, I CRIED OUT TO GOD..

SO, AS WE CRY OUT TO GOD TO EXPERIENCE HIS LOVE, just like a young child must be lifted up into a parent’s arms “IN HIS ARMS, HE’LL TAKE AND SHIELD ME. I WILL FIND (PEACE). Also, as another hymn says”: LOVE LIFTED ME

Great blog! Today, in our materialistic, intellectually-oriented culture, many people have lost or never truly discovered the importance of a close, vibrant, interpersonal relationship with another person. The lack of close interpersonal relationships with other people often becomes a barrier to understanding and building a close relationship with God.

I read a tangentially-related article about a week ago that was written by an adult, Christian woman who had been raised by two lesbians. Her eventual journey to God was prolonged, she explained, because the absence of an earthly father made it very difficult for her to embrace a Heavenly Father.

Outward evidence of the above is that our culture has migrated from a family-centered culture to a career-centered culture, with tragic results. Please pray that we will regain a sense of the priority importance of the family. What do you think?

Yes, you are right about the lack of close interpersonal relationships today. Oftentimes people did not choose to be that distant toward others. Instead, they suffered a lot of pain in past relationships (from their parents, siblings, friends, even their own children) and thus hope that it would be better to protect their wounded hearts by not opening them up toward another person anymore.

I do think I know which article you were referring to, Lloyd, since yesterday I stumbled over a woman’s story, a woman who had been raised by two lesbian women. Indeed, all people who either had no earthly father or were raised in a dysfunctional family have problems to trust in God as their loving Father.

Yes again, family IS important. Our culture is so shortsighted to believe that anything we could achieve in the world (outside of us) could ever fill a heart that hungers to be loved (deep inside of us). As for the future of our human culture, the apostle Paul offered a sobering perspective. In his 2nd letter to Timothy 3, verses 1-5 we read,

Godlessness in the Last Days
1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.
2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good,
4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

Sound familiar when we look around us, right? 😦

In the past I saw that when we prayed (two or three) for a person or a family, God really heard after a certain time and changed the hardened hearts of those for who we had prayed. That gives me hope….

Susanne, you quoted a very familiar passage. However, this time my eyes fell on “lovers of self.” I frequently notice a “family” in a restaurant. You know–the traditional mom, dad, and 2.5 kids. The modern tragedy is that all 4 or 5 of them are sitting there ignoring the family. Each one is totally absorbed by their hand-held electronic gadget, I-phone or otherwise. Those folks don’t even know each other. The home has become merely a house, the building where everyone comes to sleep at night, because they have nowhere else to go. That’s one of the most noticeable evidences of the tragic migration from a family-centered culture to a career-centered culture. What do you think?

I found this entire post profound, Susanne. Your discussion about the meaning of the word “know” especially struck a chord.

As I am sure you’re aware, St. Teresa of Avila would fall back on erotic language in trying to describe her relationship with the Lord. This was not blasphemy. It was never meant to be understood in an earthly sense. She was simply at a loss for words to express the depth of her longing for the Lord and its fulfillment in His love. Bernini’s beautiful sculpture of St. Teresa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecstasy_of_Saint_Teresa takes the very same approach, applying it visually.

Years ago, when I lost my faith and left the Catholic Church, part of the reason was that I felt so alienated by the approach the Church took toward the body. As an abuse victim, I loathed my body and was struggling somehow to reconcile the mind/body/soul dichotomy — “the heart’s desire to be perfectly loved” as you so aptly describe it.

The Catholic Church failed entirely to recognize my need, and I now see why. The passage beginning, “Now we may assume why Jesus was not married…” is the most cogent explanation I have ever come across for the attitude adopted by the Church, both toward celibacy among priests and homosexuality.

I doubt I can ever match your spirituality. But you have my heartfelt thanks.

I really enjoyed your article. You obviously have written it from your own deep experiences with the Father and the Son. There is so much more to what it means to be intimate with our Father and Jesus than what meets the surface in today’s churches. Even the Bible translators seem to have gone out of their way to strip intimacy out of what the original languages were written in. For instance, what it means to be “born again.” We hear this phrase all over Christendom, but how hollow it is! Being “born again” is the very beginning of our relationship with the Spirit Being who has called us to Himself. The translators really missed it on this one! Take the word, “born”

gennaō
Thayer Definition:
1) of men who fathered children
1a) to be born
1b) to be begotten
1b1) of women giving birth to children

This word can be used for both being born and for conception by the father. But this case our heavenly Father is a progenitor. He is not our biological mother, but who is? Father is the one who moves and “broods over” us and inseminates us with spiritual life! That is what it means to be “born of the Spirit.” With us it is just as it was with Mary, the mother of Jesus and how she became pregnant.

“Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know [ginosko – intimate knowing] not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born [gennao] of you shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:34-35 KJ2000 – emphasis added)

Then our intimacy continues on for we are inseminated INTO Christ and abide there in Him from then on. Jesus said, “That whosoever believes in [Greek – eis INTO not “in”] him [the Son] should not perish, but have eternal life.”(John 3:15 KJ2000) Salvation is all about in whom we abide. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in [Greek – eis INTO] him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16 KJ2000)

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the children of God, even to them that believe INTO [Grk – eis] his name [character or personage]: Who were born [gennao – inseminated], not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13 KJ2000)

The initial act by the Father is one that makes us spirit beings and then through faith places us INTO the Son. Jesus is the Father’s womb where we live! From then on we are IN Him. Jesus said,

He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, dwells in me, and I in him. (John 6:56 KJ2000 – Emphasis added)

We are eating and drinking from Him just as a fetus does eat and drink of its mother. Paul said,

‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ (Acts 17:28 RSVA – emphasis added)

Jesus’ final prayers are very instructive,

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also who shall believe on [eis – into] me through their word; That they all may be one; as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that you have sent me. And the glory which you gave me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and you in me, that they may be made perfect in [eis – into] one; and that the world may know that you have sent me, and have loved them, as you have loved me. (John 17:20-23 KJ2000 – emphasis added)

As I hope you can see, everything about what it means for us to become a NEW creation IN Christ is about intimacy. We have our being (not beings) IN the Father and the Son. This is not mere religious activities here or going to endless meetings. God is after intimacy with all who are His.

Another thought on intimacy. Jesus said, “But you, when you pray, enter into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret shall reward you openly.” (Matthew 6:6 KJ2000). Prayer is our time of intimacy in secret with the Father, not a public performance. We enter into our room with Him and shut the door. What room? The room that Jesus has prepared for us for our intimate communion with the Father and the Son. Jesus said,

“Let not your hearts be troubled; believe [INTO – Grk. eis) God, believe also [INTO – Grk. eis] me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:1-3 RSVA)

We are the BRIDE of Christ, not His platonic girlfriend. He first prepares the bridal chamber for us and then invites us into it with Him. We can have that intimacy now in this life as we learn to go into our heavenly room and shut the door with Him. Oh, what intimacy is ours if we will just open our eyes and follow our Bridegroom.

And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut. (Matthew 25:10 RSVA)

As I anticipated, your wonderful comment turned into a blog post of your own, dear Michael. Also, I was glad to hear that you enjoyed my article! 🙂

Yes, “being born again” is a mystery, but more often you find bad theology… and thus people believe they are born again although they are not. That is so saddening because only the born again believer has the power of God indwelling him so that he can overcome the world. Trying to meet “the Law” without it having been written on our hearts, we can never achieve anything in the spiritual realm. It is no wonder that many people after decades of being believers really wonder why there has not been any change in their spiritual life yet. May God help us all to get to know Him as He really is!

Yes, Susanne, I totally agree. Churches give people just enough theology to make them think that they said “the secret words” in a sinner’s prayer (have done some sacraments) and that is all that is required of them to be in God’s kingdom (as long as they tithe religiously). So few truly believe INTO Christ as their All in all. They can believe about, upon, unto, etc., all day long and Satan has not lost an ally. But once we have believed INTO Christ and made our abode there and nowhere else, He becomes our total perspective in our lives and THEN things start changing in us because we are given a NEW heart, a NEW mind and have Christ’s Spirit placed in us. If we are truly IN Christ we have HIS heart, mind and spirit AND we have HIS love in our hearts. He truly becomes our All in all. “In HIM we live and move and have our being” and not in this world system where Satan is prince.

Susanne, I am so blessed to finally see that we are given life as spiritual fetuses INTO Christ by the Father and that we are raised up in HIS DNA to become sons and daughters of God together. What an eye opening vision this has been for me and God used you, your prayers and your writings for me to see this more clearly.
God bless you, my eternal sister!

In fact, the Catholic Church taught a lot of nonsense about the human body in the past and held people really captive with her strange and burdening approaches on issues most priests and theologians never understood due to their lack of own experience. I also hated my body for similar reasons you mentioned, dear Anna, and the Church – not only the Catholic – added her part to burden me all the more. But over the years my close relationship with Jesus and with God freed me more and more to even love my body because I have come to know that I am so loved by God – just like you are loved, my sister!!! However, I do admit there was a lot of healing necessary until I could see that God is sooo very different from man….. I cannot describe it better than this, “God fulfills our every desire without ever hurting us. He is not critical but always loving and tender. And He respects us more than any human being ever could.”

As for my spirituality, well, I cannot say I chose it – ever. I had my first ecstatic experience with God as a child in school (I wrote about it here https://enteringthepromisedland.wordpress.com/2014/06/13/my-testimony/) and the second about 10 years later in school again. Some people in my family and friends wondered why I was so “crazy” to always search desperately for “more of God”, but I couldn’t help doing so because He somehow drew me toward Himself right from the beginning of my life.

We have been discussing the deepest rooted concerns for the decline of the American culture, the American family, and the Church that inspired the writing of my book, “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: YOU Must Save America and the Family.” Excerpts are on my blog at http://lloydstebbins.com.

After reading once again about Michael Lazio’s message I am reminded that pastor
Frances Frangipane of Cedar Rapids, Iowa was able to get the pastors in town
to meet and pray: included different denominations: THE RESULT; DECREASED
CRIME, IMMORALITY, AND REVIVAL. I am told that when revivals came in the
past that UNITY IN PRAYER WENT BEFORE. AZUSA ST. WELCH REVIVAL.
a few years ago: REVIVAL IN BROWNSVILLE, ASSEMBLY IN PENSACOLA, FLORIDA, IT LASTED ALONG TIME. PEOPLE CAME FROM ALL OVER TO
BE A PART. THEN, THERE WAS THE TORONTO, CANADA REVIVAL THAT LASTED ALONG TIME. I WAS PART OF A REVIVAL HERE AT A BAPTIST
CHURCH. PART: INCLUDED TESTIMONIES THAT PEOPLE REPENTED.
I WAS PART OF THEIR AM PRAYER WHERE 6 OF US GOT TOGETHER. THERE
WAS SUCH UNITY. FOR INSTANCE, ONE TIME THE PASTOR PRAYED
FOR CHILDREN TO RETURN TO THE LORD. I FELT SUCH UNITY WITH
HIM IN HIS PRAYER! Where there are 2-3 TOGETHER IN UNITY: GOD IS
THE MIDST!

Dear Susanne, it is interesting that you should choose these verses today as I recorded today John 2 and shared it. I love the Book of John for as we know there was a special spiritual relationship between John and Jesus ‘the one whom he loved’. This whole spiritual experience of knowing God goes way beyond anything on this earth and that is the problem interpreting what ‘love’ means. As an abused woman intimacy is a scary thing yet the Father and the Son because they are one are drawing me more into the heavenly places where we are rightly sat … this too is the problem with earth bound Christians seeing everything through the eyes of the world. As I sat late one evening in prayer and by prayer I don’t mean lots of words. I have found that my best times of prayer are in silence but through this I felt the Father and Son laughing with me as I wrote this poem on joy out. I saw them smiling. It was pure, it was lovely, it was true and I saw the essence, pure essence of who they were. yes this ‘knowing’ goes beyond anything on this earth ….. and it defies any words. Thank you Susanne … jacqui x

Indeed, the relationship between Jesus and John was always intriguing for me too and in the past I loved no book in the Bible more than the Gospel of John. 🙂
I do admit that intimacy with God might seem scary because of deep wounds suffered from abuse or rape, but as I wrote in my reply to Anna, God is sooo different from man; there really is NO comparison with any human being possible. His love is supernatural and finally He heals all wounds human beings left there in our hearts and souls. God’s love never hurts us, instead He only caresses and cherishes His bride as her selfless Divine Lover.

Thanks for sharing another part of your testimony, my sister. YES!!! Real prayer, eventually, needs no words. Therefore I simply call it the prayer of love. In God’s embrace we may experience the deepest peace possible, a peace this world could never offer. And as you rightly said, experiencing God for real, “it defies any words.”

A man named Zipporino was a Japanese POW when his guards beat him mercilessly. When he got back here: he was so angry, bitter, hateful that he
tried to drown his sorrow with alcohol. He got BORN AGAIN in a Billy Graham
CRUSADE. HE GOT SO MUCH (AGAPE” LOVE that he went to Japan and
TOLD THOSE WHO BEAT HIM THAT HE HAD FORGIVEN THEM His story
included staying on a raft on the ocean for an incredible long time. HIS LIFE
WAS SO REMARKABLE THAT A CURRENT MOVIE IS PRESENT ABOUT
HIS LIFE.

I forgot to mention the praying before a Billy Graham crusade. Way before one,
a team is sent to get pastors together to make plans and to begin praying. Next,
they send letters to the mailing list to pray. I am on the mailing list.

Kenneth, thank you for saying this. I find that often what Susanne shares on here is like a spring-board, she lights down on her end and I am launched into a deeper truth from my end. In the fellowship of the Spirit we all share here on her blog I am growing into a deeper understanding and heartfelt longing for ALL that Christ is. And occasionally I am inspired to write about that understanding on my blog as well. I think that true Spirit-led fellowship is one in which each member is inspired by what the Spirit is showing and instilling into them as well as enlightened by what He is doing and saying in the lives of the other members of Christ’s body. Or as Paul spoke of it, the joining of the members is where the supply is found.
God bless you Kenneth. Thanks so much for your encouragement and the part you play in His body.

“I think that true Spirit-led fellowship is one in which each member is inspired by what the Spirit is showing and instilling into them as well as enlightened by what He is doing and saying in the lives of the other members of Christ’s body.”

Reading this blog and the love in the comments here is like a spring in the desert for me. Over the past 12 months Jesus has been drawing me out of anything that I could use to feel valued and worthy apart from himself (career, financial stability, social circles, “churchianity”, ministry etc) and although he has shown me that he sees me as Ruth at the feet of Boaz in the night, it is lonely sometimes and often the battle for joy is fierce. How refreshing it is to find others who have similar journeys toward intimacy with him and away from everything else. Thank you so much Susanne.

Thank you so much for sharing your own, often times painful, experiences with us on here. You may know that you may join us whenever you feel you need someone to pray you through it all or to simply listen to you. I saw that it is way easier for me to continue on that narrow path that leads to life when there is someone with who I can truly fellowship (virtually) via commenting, email or live chat. That is a modern-day-church-meeting in a cyber church, so to speak. 😉

Susanne, I wrote down your message . I will keep it to read from time to time:
I THINK THAT TRUE SPIRIT-LED FELLOWSHIP IS ONE IN WHICH EACH MEMBER IS INSPIRED BY WHAT THE SPIRIT IS SHOWING AND INSTILLING INTO THEM AS WELL AS ENLIGHTENED BY WHAT HE IS DOING & SAYING IN THE LIVES OF THE OTHER MEMBERS OF CHRIST’S BODY. In fact, I reread Michael’s message and agree to what he said. As I told you about the intimacy I feel with the father is like a CHILD OF GOD WITH HIS OR HER HEAVENLY FATHER.. I also, have a teaching about closet intimacy with Jesus. I call it INNER CHAMBER EXPERIENCE I CAN BEST TELL YOU THIS INTIMACY WITH JESUS in the song: “in the garden:

‘I COME INTO THE GARDEN WHILE THE DEW IS STILL ON THE ROSES, AND THE VOICE I HEAR COMING ON MY EAR, THE SON OF GOD (JESUS) DISCLOSES, AND HE WALKS WITH ME AND HE TALKS WITH ME, AND HE TELLS ME I AM HIS OWN. AND THE JOY WE SHARE AS WE TARRY THERE, NONE OTHER HAS EVER KNOWN.’

Indeed, Bernie, the inner chamber experience is the most intimate encounter with God. There is a book about 7 different chambers or mansions we need to go through until we are completely one with God. I read the book in the past more than once and I loved it although it is not always that easy to understand (16th century and many pictoral descriptions of that which cannot be explained in mere human words). The book is called “The Interior Castle or The Mansions” by Teresa of Ávila. You could even read it online here if you like http://sacred-texts.com/chr/tic/index.htm.

Yes, I love that song as well since these words unmistakably point to the truth…..

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“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."
(John 3:16-17 ESV)

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